Presented by the American Cinematheque, the French Institute, the French Embassy in New York, the French Film & TV Office of the French Consulate and the Jean-Pierre Melville Foundation. Special thanks to TV5MONDE, now streaming the best of French-language films online with Sling TV.

35 mm!

LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE

SECOND BREATH

1966,
Janus Films,
150 min,
France,
Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville

This riveting crime drama based on the novel by José Giovanni tells the story of a middle-aged hood (Lino Ventura) who breaks out of jail and organizes a new gang, determined to prove he still has the juice. Melville’s brutal, crackling noir contrasts Ventura’s “old-world craftsmanship” against the younger generation of Nouvelle Vague crooks. According to critic Tom Milne, the film “established Melville’s reputation as a brilliant refurbisher of the immemorial imagery of the genre - gleaming night streets, gunmen prowling in deserted stairways.”